Highway District 2’s newest plow clears 2+ travel lanes in a single pass

WEST SPRINGFIELD (Friday, November 16, 2012) –Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) Secretary and CEO Richard A. Davey debuted the Department’s most efficient snow clearing machine today, a Tow Plow that can clear 2.5 travel lanes in a single pass. A standard plow clears less than one lane.

“MassDOT works diligently to find cost-effective and environmentally friendly ways to improve our operations,” said Secretary Davey. “This Mega Plow takes the place of three pieces of equipment. We are reducing emissions, man-power, and still clearing the roads for our customers.”

MassDOT Highway District 2 stretches from Southwick to Warwick, Westhampton to New Braintree. The Tow Plow was available for service last winter, but saw little action with the light snowfall. This season it is ready to clear snow on the northern end of Interstate 91. A second Tow Plow is expected to arrive in District 2 by mid-winter. Because of their size, these plows work best on wide, mostly straight stretches of roadway.

“MassDOT enters the winter season with nine new loaders, 40 new plows with spreaders and 12 new Tow Plows on order,” said MassDOT Highway Administrator Frank DePaola. “Even with the new equipment, we can’t do it alone. We rely on the 4,000 private vendors who become part of our for snow and ice removal force each winter.”

Clean-up from the November 7th storm cost District 2 approximately $230,000 out of a statewide total of $2.4 million. This year’s snow and ice budget is set at $45 million. District 2 is stocked with 39,000 tons of salt, 2,200 tons of sand and 75,000 gallons of liquid anti-icers and de-icers.

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